Belt conveyer



Jan. 18, 1938.

J. R. MADEIRA BELT CONVEYER Filed March 29, 1937 Patented Jan. 18, 1938 BELT CONVEYER.

Application March 29, 1937, Serial No. 133,557

UNi'i'E Flat belt conveyers of the sectional type adapttional conveyer constructed in accordance with 5 ed for use in mines underground have heretofore my invention with certain parts broken away and consisted of a plurality of supporting standards shown in section; forming a support for the rollers for the upper Figure 2 is a side elevation of the. device shown and lower runs of the belt which are held in in Figure 1;

spaced relation with respect to each other by Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken 10- spacing members extending between these supsubstantially along line 3-3 of Figure 1; and porting standards. Said spacing members are Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspecusually so arranged that they may extend uptive View of one of the ends of a spacing member wardly along the sides of the belt to form a means showing certain details of construction thereof.

for retaining material on the belt and may have Referring now in particular to the embodi- 15. portions extending beneath the belt, commonly ment of my invention illustrated in the drawing, called spill plates, which support the edges of a plurality of transverse supporting standards It the belt to prevent spillage of material from the is provided. Said standards are detachably held belt onto the lower run of the belt. A space is in spaced relation with respect to each other by usually present between abutting ends of said means of parallel spaced longitudinally extendspacing members, with the result that fine mateing spacing members i I, I l. rial spills through the joints between said mem- Each of said supporting standards forms a supbers. Since the average conveyer of this type is port for a transversely disposed idler roller i2 300 feet or more in length, and the length of the for supporting the upper run of a conveyer belt I3 individual conveyer sections can seldom be more and for a transversely disposed idler roller i4 than 6 feet, and inasmuch as the supporting for supporting the lower run of said conveyer Standards must be close enough together t0 D OD- belt. The details of said standards will hereinerly support the belt, and the sections must be after be more. fully described as this specificaof such size that the conveyer can readily be eX- tion proceeds.

tended in low coal, the number of joints for the. The spacing members H, II are supported in- 30 entire length of the conveyer and the amount of wardly of a pair of parallel spaced upstanding material which collects on the lower run of the side walls [5, l5 of the supporting standards It belt are considerable. Material spilling. through by means of studs H, H which project from the these joints falls onto the lower run of the belt sides of said spacing members adjacent opposite and clogs the idler rollers, which causes undue ends thereof. Each of said studs engages anotch 35 wear of the belt and increases the load on the IS in an upstanding side Wall l5 which notch conveyer. opens towards the upper end of said side wall.

One Of the j ts f y i Ve ion s to pro- Said notches are spaced apart in a longitudinal d a Sectional o v y 0f the flat belt ype direction in each side wall E5 to space the ends 40 which is arranged to conform to an uneven botof said spacing members so they may be pivotally 40 t and is arranged to p t spillage of mateadjusted with respect to each other to permit al on h l w r r n f the belt y p v y eonthe conveyer to conform to an uneven bottom, nesting t a g m s t th supp tin and said studs are each provided with a head standards and y p vidin ll in m n at to prevent lateral displacement of said spacing the joints between the spacing members to cover members with respect to said standards. 5

the lower run of the belt at these places and 001- Each spacing member is of a substantially L- lect the material spilled and discharge it beyond shaped formation with an inwardly extending the belt. lower side or spill plate 20 which is turned do Another object of my invention is to so arwardly at its inner end. The outer edges of the range these collecting means that they may form under side of the upper run of the conveyer belt 50 a part of the supporting standards. 13 are adapted to ride on said spill plates, so said Still another object of my invention is to so spill plates and the sides of said members may arrange these collecting means that they may prevent spillage of material from the belt.

form a support for rollers which support the up- The ends of said spacing members and spill per run of the belt. plates are flared outwardly and downwardly to 13 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in belt conveyers, and more particularly to improvements in a sectional belt conveyer of the fiat belt type adapted for use in mines.

My invention may be more clearly understood with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a secprevent damage to the under side and edges of the belt as said belt passes from one section to the other and to permit said members to be pivotally adjusted with respect to each other (see Figures 2 and 4). 1

It should herein be noted that a gap is provided between the ends of the spacing members H, H in order to permit adjustment of the conveyer to an uneven bottom and that material tends to fall through this gap onto the lower run of the belt which causes wear of the belt and clogging of the idler pulley.

With reference now in particular to the details of the novel form of supporting standards embodying my invention, each of said standards includes the parallel spaced upstanding sides l5, l which rest on the ground and are connected together in spaced relation with respect to each other by a pair of spaced apart transversely. extending connecting members 2!, 21. Each of i said upstanding sides has a pair of spaced apart legs 22, 22 with horizontally extending portions 23, 23 extending away from the conveyer to form supporting feet adapted to rest on the ground. A bracket 24 extends from one of said legs, into the space between said legs, and said brackets on opposite upstanding sides I5, I 5 form a support for the ends of the shaft for the roller [4. An intermediate portion 25 of each of said upstanding sides is beveled upwardly and inwardly toward the belt so the lower portion of said standards will be wider than the upper portion thereof to prevent rubbing of the edges of the lower run of the belt on said standards. An opening 26 is provided in the upright portion of each of said upstanding sides immediately above said beveled intermediate portion. As herein shown, said opening is formed by stamping out the upright upper portion of said side and bending the stamped portion inwardly. Said stamped portion extends inwardly of said side in an angularly upward direction and is preferably at the same angle as said inclined portion so itmay form a collecting chute 21 which covers the lower run of the belt at the joint between said spacing members to collect material which spills through said joint and permit it to be discharged through said opening away from the belt. Said collecting chute has an upright upper end 28 which is notched so as to open toward the upper end thereof to receive an end of the shaft for the upper belt supporting roller I2.

It may thus be seen that a sectional conveyer of the flat belt type has been provided which may readily conform to an uneven bottom and which is so arranged as to prevent spillage of material onto the lower run of the belt, and that said conveyer includes a standard of a novel and simplified form of construction, so arranged as to cover the lower run of the belt at the point of junction of the spill plates so that material which may fall through the gap between said sections may be collected and discharged beyond said standard. It may also be seen that this collecting means comprises an inwardly extending chute on each side of each standard which is herein shown as being an integral portion of said standard and which also forms a means for supporting the roller for the upper run of the belt.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which my invention may be embodied, it will be understood that the construction thereof and the arrangement of the various parts may be altered without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Furthermore, I do not wish to be construed as limiting myself to the specific embodiment illustrated, excepting as it may be limited in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a sectional conveyer, an endless flat conveyer belt, a plurality of supporting standards, and longitudinally extending spacing members connecting said supporting standards together, said spacing members forming sides extending along said belt and having portions extending beneath and supporting the edges of said belt to prevent the spillage of material onto the lower run of said belt, and means to prevent material spilling through the joints between adjacent spacing members from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising a collecting chute on each side of each of said standards, said chutes being disposed beneath the joints between said spacing members and arranged to discharge material away from said standards.

2. In a sectional conveyer, an endless flat conveyer belt, a plurality of supporting standards, and longitudinally extending spacing members detachably connecting said supporting standards together, said spacing members forming sides for retaining material on said belt and having portions extending beneath the edges of said belt to prevent the spillage of material onto the lower run of said belt, and means to prevent material spilling through the joints between adjacent spacing members from falling on the lower run of the belt comprising a collecting chute mounted on each side of each of said standards, said chutes being disposed beneath the joints between said spacing members and arranged to discharge material away from said standards.

3. In a sectional conveyer, an endless flat conveyer belt, a plurality of supporting standards, and longitudinally extending spacing members connecting said supporting standards together, said spacing members forming sides for retaining material on said belt and having portions extending beneath the edges of said belt to prevent the spillage of material onto the lower run of the belt, and means to prevent material spilling through the joints between adjacent spacing members from falling onto the lower run of the belt comprising an opening in each side of each of said standards and collecting chutes arranged beneath the joints between said spacing members to collect and discharge material through said openings.

4. In a sectional conveyer, an endless flat conveyer belt, a plurality of supporting standards, and longitudinally extending spacing members connecting said supporting standards together, said spacing members forming sides for retaining material on said belt and having portions extending beneath the edges of said belt to prevent the spillage of material onto the lower run of the belt, means to prevent material spilling through the joints between adjacent spacing members from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising an opening in each side of each of said standards .and collecting chutes extending inwardly of said openings and arranged beneath the joints between said spacing members to collect and discharge material through. said openings, and a transversely disposed roller adapted to support the upper run of the belt, said roller being supported between the upper ends of said chutes.

5. In a sectional conveyer and in combination with an endless conveyer belt, a plurality of belt supporting standards, a plurality of longitudinally extending spacing members pivotally connected adjacent their ends to said standards to permit the conveyer to conform to an uneven bottom, said spacing members being adapted to retain material on said belt and having spill plates extending beneath the outer edges of said belt to prevent the spillage of material onto the lower runs of said belt, a gap being provided between the ends of said spacing members to permit pivotal adjustment of said sections with respect to each other, and means to prevent material spilling through said gaps from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising a collecting chute disposed beneath each of said gaps and arranged to discharge material beyond said associated standards.

6. In a sectional conveyer and in combination with an endless conveyer belt, a plurality of belt supporting standards, means detachably connecting said standards together in spaced relation with respect to each other comprising a plurality of parallel spaced spacing members adjustably supported at their ends on said standards to enable the conveyer to conform to an uneven bottom, said spacing members having sides extending upwardly along said belt to retain material thereon and inwardly extending spill plates on which the outer margins of said belt ride, and

means to prevent material spilling through the joints between said spacing members from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising a collecting chute extending inwardly from each side of each of said standards and covering the belt at said joints and arranged to discharge said spilled material beyond said standards.

7. In a sectional conveyer and in combination with an endless conveyer belt, a plurality of belt supporting standards, means detachably connecting said standards together in spaced relation with respect to each other comprising a plurality of parallel spaced spacing members adjustably supported at their ends on said standards to enable the conveyer to conform. to an uneven mine bottom, said spacing members having sides extending upwardly along said belt to retain material thereon and inwardly extending spill plates on which the outer margins of said belt ride, and means to prevent material spilling through the joints between said spacing members from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising an opening in each side of each of said standards adjacent the joint between said spacing members and a collecting chute leading inwardly from each of said openings and arranged to collect material spilled at the joint between said members and discharge it through said opening.

8. In a sectional conveyer and in combination with an endless flat conveyer belt, a plurality of belt supporting standards, an upper and lower transversely disposed roller mounted in each of said standards for supporting the upper and lower runs of said belt, means detachably connecting said standards together in spaced relation with respect to each other comprising a plurality of parallel spaced spacing members adjustably supported at their ends on said standards to enable the conveyer to conform to an uneven mine bottom, said spacing members having sides extending upwardly along said belt to retain material thereon and inwardly extending spill plates on which the outer margins of said belt ride, means to prevent material spilling through the joints between said spacing members from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising an opening in each side of each of said standards adjacent the joint between'said spacing members and an integrally formed collecting chute extending upwardly and inwardly from each of said openings and arranged to collect material spilled at the joint between said members and discharge it through said opening beyond said standard, and the inner ends of said chutes forming a supporting means for said upper roller.

9. In a sectional conveyerand in combination with an endless fiat conveyer belt, a plurality of belt supporting standards, a plurality of longitudinally extending spacing members p-ivotally connected to said standards to permit the conveyer to conform to an uneven bottom, said spacing members being adapted to retain material on said belt and having spill plates extending beneath the outer edges of said belt to prevent material from spilling onto the lower run of said belt, a gap being provided between the ends of said spacing'members to permit pivotal adjustment of said sections with respect to each other, and means to prevent material spilling through said gaps from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising collecting chutes disposed beneath said gaps, one of saidqchutes being on each side of each of said standards and being arranged to collect and discharge material beyond the sides of said standards.

10. In a sectional conveyer and in combination with an endless fiat conveyer belt, a plurality of belt supporting standards, and a plurality of longitudinally extending spacing members detachably and pivotally connected to said standards to hold said standards in spaced relation with respect to each other and permit theconveyer to conform to an uneven bottom, said spacing members being adapted to retain material on said belt and having spill plates extending beneath the outer edges of said belt to prevent material from spilling onto the lower run of said belt, a gap being provided between the ends of said spacing members to permit pivotal adjustment of said sections with respect to each other, and means to prevent material spilling through said gaps from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising collecting chutes extending inwardly from opposite sides of each of said standards and covering the lower run of said belt at said gaps and being adapted to guide and discharge material through openings in the sides of said standards.

11. In a sectional conveyer and in combination with an endless conveyer belt, a plurality of belt supporting standards, and a plurality of longitudinally extending spacing members pivotally connected to said standards to hold said standards in spaced relation with respect to each other and permit the conveyer to conform to an uneven bottom, said spacing members being adapted to retain material on said belt and having spill plates on which the outer edges of said belt ride to prevent the spillage of material onto the lower run of said belt, a gap being provided between the ends of said spacing members to permit pivotal adjustment of said sections with respect to said standards, and means to prevent material spilling through said gaps from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising openings in the sides of said standards beneath said gaps, and integrally formed collecting chutes extending angularly inwardly and upwardly from said openings and covering the lower run of said belt at said gaps, and being adapted to discharge material through said openings.

12. In a sectional conveyer and in combination with an endless fiat conveyer belt, a plurality of belt supporting standards; anda plurality of spacing members pivotally connected to said standards to hold said standards in spaced relabelt comprising openings in the sides of said standards adjacent said gaps, and collecting chutes extending inwardly of said, openings and covering the lower run of said belt at said gaps and being adapted to discharge material through said openings, said chutes being formed integral with said standards and forming a support for a roller for supporting the upper run of the belt.

13. In a sectional conveyer and in combination with an endless conveyer belt, a plurality of belt supporting standards, an upper and lower transversely disposed roller mounted in each of said standards for supporting the upper and lower runs of said belt, and a plurality of longitudinally extending spacing members detachably and pivotally connected to said standards adjacent their ends to permit the conveyer to conform to an uneven bottom, said spacing members having sides extending upwardly along said belt to retain material on said belt and having spill plates extending beneath the outer edges of said belt to prevent the spillage of material onto the lower runs of said belt, a gap being provided between the ends of said spacing members to permit pivotal adjustment of said sections with respect to said standards, means to prevent material spilling through said gaps from collecting on the lower run of the belt comprising collecting chutes extending inwardly from opposite sides of each of said standards covering the'lower run of said belt at said gaps,:and being adapted to guide and discharge material through openings in the sides of said standards, said chutes having inner upright upper ends having said upper roller supported therebetween.

JOHN R. MADEIRA. 

